All We Know
by Hari-Aisu
Summary: Some say that what's obvious to some, may not be so obvious to others. For a certain group of detectives, a gothic lolita and inventor-turned-manservant, that certainly seemed to be the case. L and Raito never could catch a break, could they? LxRaito


A.N: Why, hello dearies! I would ask how all of you are doing, but I fear that I would just get the weirded-out stare of doom for all of my efforts.

O.o;

See? Exactly. YAHTZEE!

Lol. Sorry. I had a lot of coffee today. And a lot of sugar. And a lot of sugary coffee. The best part of waking up, is Folgers in your cup!

... ... ... Does this mean I have to disclaim Folgers now? Well, consider it disclaimed, then. Damn. Lmao.

Ok, ok, enough silly-silliness. I'm serious now. Serious... serious... serious face. See? Totally serious. Okie dokie. And no, I totally did not say that out loud. *Ahem* Here's my little gift to our dearest and most precious megalomaniacal serial killer, Light/Raito (whatever floats your boat, really!) Yagami on his awesome birthday. Hopefully, he totally appreciates the mega-awesome effort I put into this semi-silly/semi-introspective(really?) one-shot. And no, I don't care if he's fictitious, he shall accept this gift with open arms and like it, damn it!

Though, I have to admit, this fic was really just my excuse to write in different POV's other than L and Light's. You readers may not think so, but I do definitely enjoy writing in other character's point of views. I may even write a fic (or two) about some of the other characters in the DN fandom... but I must show restraint for now. I may be mobbed if I start anymore stories without finishing any of my other ones. Damn it all. XD

Hopefully, I don't sound deranged now, though. ^.^; Uh... Happy birthday, Raito! What would we do without you and your sexy psychosis? Not much, that's for sure! XD Many thanks to my beta, Kitsune55, for looking through this, by the way! Now that's what I'm talking about! See-You-Guys-Later-Five! (Can you tell I'm a Scrubs fan? Lol!)

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note... and thank god. Can you imagine just what it would have been like if I did? *Thinks back on DH* Uh... yeah. Definitely a good thing. XD

* * *

Title: _**All We Know**_

* * *

It was sickening, really.

Continually watching the two young men dance around each other like a pair of children who didn't know any better…

Sadly enough, that appeared to be the case when it came to the pair of geniuses who seemed to be chained together by not only the silver pieces of metal cuffing their wrists, but a sort of invisible string that always seemed to pull them back together again.

No matter how hard they tried to get away from each other, (_though in the eyes of everyone else_,_ neither really showed any real effort to actually get away from their **chained** counterpart_) they never strayed very far.

In essence, they always winded back to square one, and it was usually everyone else who had to suffer for it.

The old man almost sighed as he walked into the room with his normally bland smile, trying his best not to snap at the two men stubbornly arguing with each other about nothing in particular.

Completely and utterly sickening.

Quillsh Whammy, better known as "Watari", barely held in another sigh of exasperation as he set down the small platter of coffee and cake on the middle of the table. The two men sitting across from each other simply stared at the other's face in some sort of strange contest only the both of them could understand.

One set of wide dark gray eyes barely blinked as they kept themselves trained forward, refusing to be the first to look away.

The narrowed pair of honey-brown orbs opposite to them twitched as they also kept themselves from avoiding the person just across from them.

"Will that be all, sir?"

"Yes, thank you, Watari." The slouched detective said nothing more as the older man held in another sigh (_something that Watari did a lot of, if you couldn't tell_) and took his leave.

"What do you think of these newest reports supporting Kira's rising support, Raito-kun?"

"… … You just don't stop do you."

Any outsider could see it…

"Not really."

It was just a matter of time before they saw it, as well.

* * *

For being two of the most intelligent people he knew, he had to say, it was pretty sad watching them act like a pair of juvenile dilenquents in cohorts against each other.

They were _geniuses_, for God's sake!

There was simply no way you could be _so _oblivious to '_it_' _**all** _of the time.

Rolling his eyes, Yagami Soichirou took a sip of his now lukewarm coffee as he brought his gaze back to the case files within his hands, the words blurring over from lack of sleep and food.

"What are you, an idiot?!"

Which wasn't the first time that Soichirou had wondered that of the _both_ of them, even if he didn't say it out loud for fear of, God forbid, upsetting one or the other, and not having anything productive done for the day.

"Raito-kun is the first person to ever ask me this. This leads me to believe that it may not be _myself_ with the mental deficiency, but-"

"_Finish that sentence and I will smother you with a pillow while you're dead asleep_."

"…"

"…"

"… … Chances of being Kira, up fo-UUMPH!"

Soichirou sighed as he put down his cup and reached for the aspirin, quite sure that Excedrin was now officially his best friend and FPC (_Favorite Pocket Companion_).

Really…

For two supposed masterminds, those two really needed to just get over themselves already.

"Damn it, Ryuuzaki, STOP BENDING MY ARM THAT WAAAAAAAAAY! DAMN IT!"

"An eye for an eye, after all, Raito-kun. No need to be such a spoilsport about it. You did initiate the confrontation after all"

"Spoilsport?! You nearly tore off my damn arm for one swipe of the legs!"

"… … … Well, I never said I was fair myself, Raito-kun."

If only reality could stop being so damn cruel.

Maybe then Soichirou could finally go home and just take the long, long, _long _nap he'd earned _ages_ ago.

* * *

Unlike some of the other people within the little circle of detectives on the Kira Case, he wasn't one to judge others.

At least… not out loud, like some.

But these two even tried _his _patience…

"Just because _you're _feeling unmotivated, doesn't mean that everybody else automatically feels the same way by default!"

Mogi bit his tongue as Raito shook his fist into the air, face as red as a ripe apple ready to be eaten. L, on the other hand, began picking at his cake, the slight tilt of his lips the only indication that he was listening to the angry brunette at all.

"Your overly-inflated ego is going to cost us this investigation, Kira's real identity, and my damn _innocence_! Just get over your own stupidity for a second and actually _help me_, Ryuuzaki!"

There were times when Mogi felt sympathy for both parties; Raito for the position he was in, and the truth he was so desperate to uncover, and L for his lack of empirical evidence against _anyone_, really, and continual whirlwind of confusion he seemed so unused to encountering when it came to the Kira case in general.

But it always turned into a one-way street when it came to how easily his own sympathy then turned into (_ultimately, unfortunately_) disgust.

How could they be so blind?

"I'm sure, Raito-kun, that if that were so, that I would have taken _myself_ off of this case a long time ago."

The two men stared at each other with solemn faces, neither really matching either of the facial features of the two geniuses who seemed to live in a perpetual state of frustration with the other.

Usually, Mogi reserved any judgment he might have for someone with a grain salt, as it did nothing but cause conflict and unneeded drama between parties.

Unfortunately, it seemed that nobody had taught Raito and L that same lesson as children.

But that wasn't _his_ problem.

Taking a well-deserved deep breath, the self-sufficient officer simply blanked his mind of all distractions and concentrated on his own pile of folders and headaches just waiting to be blossomed by the end of the night, hoping against all hope that maybe, just _maybe_ their night would become just a _bit _more peaceful and productive as it went on.

"Really? Because you're still here, and I doubt you'll be going anywhere anytime soon, but if you're _volunteering_ to leave, I promise you won't hear any complaints coming from _my _end!"

Yet that might've been asking for just too much, wasn't it?

* * *

If he wasn't so used to it, he might've blown a cap in _both _of their asses and had just been done with it.

But considering that that would've then led to two of their best men being out of commission, he sucked it up and just did the best he could with what he was given.

Even if it wasn't all that much to begin with.

"Those two…" Aizawa heard Mogi whisper as he flipped through another series of papers, those looking as unpromising in leads as their predecessors. Nothing else was said as the other detective sighed and got back to his duty, once again the most silent and vigilante of all the men in the room.

If only everyone was as studious as Mogi, Aizawa was pretty sure they'd have had this case wrapped by now.

Instead, the afro-haired man was here, working on an impossible case that not only compromised his _own_ safety, but that of his family's if his identity and link to the case became public. He didn't see it happening, but Kira (_whichever Kira just so happened to be killing today, thank you very much_) had already proven him/her/self/selves (_honestly, it was hard to keep up with how many Kira's they were suspecting all at once sometimes_) to be both precise and calculative…

For the most part, anyway.

Well, they gave _L_ a run for his money, didn't they?

But working on the case itself _wasn't_ even the most frustrating thing about coming to work everyday, if truth be told.

In fact, Aizawa was pretty sure it was a God send that they had any information to throw themselves at, all things considering.

"What was that Raito-kun? I couldn't quite hear you over there, with all that muttering."

Nearly banging himself over the head with his lone clipboard, Aizawa wondered if it would be some kind of crime to put that _damned_ chain to better use and shove the two geniuses in a closet somewhere, where all they would have to annoy was _each other_.

"I _said _that maybe if you stopped being such a little whiny crybaby, we'd have found something already! But I'm sure you didn't hear that either, much in thanks to your damn selective hearing!"

Yet even Aizawa's monstrous afro did not have the powers to magically make the two _shut up_ and just _get a pair of lives, _already.

Oh, if only.

* * *

Everyone else acted like they didn't see it, _even when it was all but slapping them in the freaking face_, but he himself refused to _not _acknowledge at all.

How would the two get it, otherwise?

"Matsuda, if you would be so kind, could you please hand me the small cup of sugar cubes by your left hand?"

"… … The sugar's right there in front of you, Ryuuzaki."

"Yes, but Matsuda is closer."

"No, he isn't."

"Yes, he is."

"Isn't."

"Is."

"_Isn't_."

"_Is_."

How could the other detectives find this exasperating?!

This was just half the fun, Matsuda would always think to himself as he hummed contentedly in the background, waiting for both men to come down from their argument high and get back to work as if nothing happened.

"It's not even six inches away from your hand, L! All you have to do is reach forward and grab it!"

"Says who?"

"The laws of physics, that's who!"

"… … Would _Raito-kun _pass me the sugar, then, since he is so adamant about Matsuda not giving me the sugar instead? He is much closer to it than I am, as well."

"That is _so _not the point, and you know it, Ryuuzaki."

"Then what _is_ the point?"

"…"

"…"

Watching the two young men stare at each other so intently, Matsuda could almost imagine the sparks of electricity crackling around them as the two alpha-males (_that's what Matsuda had dubbed them within his own head_) refused to back down from each other…

"Just take the damn sugar, you sugar-obsessed freak."

But like always, Raito would acquiesce to L's demands, and L would delight in his small victory (_which was never small, at least, to the both of them_) all the while subtly shoving it in Raito's face-

"Up five percent for attempting to keep my main source of sugar intake away from me, Raito-kun."

"WHAT?!"

On second thought, maybe _not quite_ so subtly.

"You… are an ass, Ryuuzaki."

"So Raito-kun tells me every couple of hours."

"Damn right."

The other members of the investigation team might think this was a waste of time, but Matsuda couldn't help but think that as long as he kept playing the part of stooge, sooner or later, things would fall into place as they were meant to.

After all, nobody ever said that most men weren't without tenacity, if nothing else.

Luckily for L and Raito, Matsuda had plenty enough of _that _to spare for the both of them.

* * *

There had to be a guide for this.

There just _had _to be.

Or at least a set of rules people had to abide by…

Now, why did that sound so familiar?

Misa sighed as she tapped a manicured finger against the table, Raito glaring over at the man sitting next to him as he overtly ignored the young woman growing outwardly frustrated with the situation as a whole.

"Can't Rai-kun and I have some _alone_time, Ryuuzaki?!" Misa whined, blonde hair falling over her eyes as she bounced against the cushion laying beneath her backside, hazel eyes narrowing in agitation.

"Even if I were to leave Raito-kun and yourself by your lonesome, you would still have camera's watching your every move, Amane-san." L dutifully stated, his crouched position and wide-eyed gaze giving him a rather childish disposition, which only seemed to further infuriate the young woman. "So what would you hope to achieve then? Except for more possible amusement for the rest of us watching, of course."

Ignoring the rather cute shade of red now dusting Raito's cheeks, Misa squealed as a future temper tantrum lay just over the horizon, even as she wondered just _how_ these two _didn't_ notice it!

Honestly, she didn't know what made her angrier; the actual connection itself, or the complete and utter disregard they both seem to have for it.

That wasn't something you didn't just _throw away_…

"Ryuuzaki, you're crossing a line, now." Raito muttered as he hid his face with one hand, making both Misa and L wonder if he was hiding a grimace or a smile behind that solid piece of tanned flesh. "Enough is enough."

"Raito-kun is so _shy_." Though the comment was made in a patronizing manner, the teasing undertone was loud and clear to Misa, whom could only lament at the _loss _of something she had never got to have and that L got to relish with no hesitation.

The kind of connection _she_ was supposed to have with Raito…

"RYUU-ZA-KIIIIII! Go away, you creepy pervert!"

"Misa, please…"

And though, for the most part, the anger, the jealousy and most definitely, the hatred, for this _thing_ she could never actually have always won out, a part of her (_a tiny, tiny, very minuscule part_) _did _feel the slightest bit _happy _for the both of them…

What L and Raito had (_whether they realized it was there or not, whether they admitted to the emotion or ignored it for what it was) _was something a person might experience once, maybe twice in their lifetime, after all.

And even she was not so spiteful as to not appreciate that in all its glory.

* * *

In retrospect, Raito could appreciate the irony of it all.

L, as well, of course. He wasn't without a sense of humor, though many other people could (_and would_) attest to that fact.

And really...

It wasn't like everybody thought-

At _all_.

"Are they gone?"

_Not in the least._

"I believe so…"

But it wasn't like they could let everybody _else_ know the truth…

"Cameras and bugs off?"

"Only the ones Watari surveillances in the morning, our usual pre-recorded video will play in the morning once he awakes from his cat-nap."

That would just about ruin _everything_.

"_Finally_."

Without another word, both men jumped up from their seat and crushed the other within their own embrace, lips colliding in a whirlwind of desperation and frustration. The bright-colored clock sitting across from them on Soichirou's usual workplace read 1:04 am, a small testament of both of their wills seeing as they had survived yet another day without getting _caught_.

What strung them together went beyond just a sense of abhorrence, though to the other, the deception may have been there.

"Bedroom?"

"Raito-kun… what do you think?"

"Right…"

It was about something much deeper than just a singular emotion, going beyond both vanity and pride, and stepping into another realm of passion that neither still understood, even as they stood slumped against the wall beside the elevator, ready to rip the other's clothes off.

The words would never leave their mouths, and the promises would never be said.

How do you build a relationship brought up on a foundation of lies, after all?

"Why didn't you get a faster elevator built in this place, Ryuuzaki?"

"I'll keep that in mind the next time I have to build a building just for the use of a case."

Hidden motives propelled them forward, but stunted emotions kept them right where they were…

A small bell indicated the elevator's arrival as Raito was pushed inside, arms flailing for a split second before L rushed inside after him, the chain jingling between them as a heavy physical manifestation of the invisible thread that kept them together beyond that of the case.

There was such a fine line for whatever it was that lay between them.

"Close your eyes, Raito."

"Why?"

"Can't Raito-kun do something without asking why?"

With a small snarl, Raito gave into his partner's wishes and closed his eyes, wondering when they'd be able to just _get_to their room alread-

A small, almost pliable touch rested over Raito's forehead as his eyelids fluttered for a moment, surprised at the tender contact. Another soft touch blessed his cheek, and then another hit his chin.

Finally, a small pressure of flesh against flesh caressed his lips as his hands automatically came up and held the other's face right where it was. After a second of nothing but satisfying silence, the two pulled away from the other's lips.

"What was that for?"

With a small shrug, L simply pulled the other forward as the elevator's doors swished open and Raito's bedazzled face held on for a few seconds before it disappeared behind a suddenly closed door.

There was something between them that held more clout than empty declarations of love and fits of dumb-down rage; something both natural and suspended in disbelief. Some thought that their relationship was grounded out of some sort of misplaced emotion, whilst others looked at their connection as just another form of the game they still continued to play to this day. Something to be justified, and then pushed aside as insignificant and droll.

What everyone _else _didn't understand was that Raito and L were not behind in their thinking...

Just ahead of the curb.

_Labels_ were for the _explainable_...

The _predictable_...

To put a name on what they had demeaned it; brought it down to some earthly level that the two refused to acknowledge, nor accept. Raito and L knew that their relationship (_though that was a word they did not use, if only because any connections either could have had was considered a weakness rather than a strength, even if it was with **each other**_) was something... _special_, not meant to be simply broken, then thrown away.

_This _(_whatever **this** was_) was worth much more than any of the trivialities that the two faced on a daily basis, and they understood that _much _better than any of the other so-called detectives and gothic lolitas whom stared at them as if they were the most clueless fools on the planet.

Because even if they never said a word_..._

It would only be one word less spoken, when everything they knew was (_inevitably, undoubtedly_) bound to each other.

* * *

**_Fin_**


End file.
